Smashing Spotlight: Drory Ben-Menachem, Creative Director

Wonder what makes Smashing Ideas so smashing? Our people! We sat down with Drory Ben-Menachem, Creative Director, to talk shop, how weartech is on a collision course with biotech and why playing pretend with a certain three year-old fuels his creativity.

Creative Directors do more than make a project look fantastic. Why is this role critical to a project’s success?

Creative Directors are the facilitators and shepherds of ideas. This doesn’t mean they come up with all of them. This means they help create an environment where great ideas can happen, as well as keeping the ideas on target by looking at both the short- and long-term benefits of those ideas. They understand how an idea needs to be expressed to successfully meet a client’s expectations. Creative Directors are also adept at making clients feel more comfortable about stepping outside their comfort zone.

To sum it up, you could say Creative Directors:

Sell an effectively realized idea.

Cultivate an active debate about what makes for good work, so that diverse ideas thrive and many people have the power to choose the best direction to pursue.

Foster an environment that attracts creative people, and encourages others to flex their creative muscles and allow their best work to shine through.

Creative Directors are known to have incredibly interesting hobbies and side-projects. Care to share any with us?

My off-and-on hobbies are ice hockey, theatre/improv, and photography. Planning on getting back into climbing, now that my son is old enough to learn.

What thing that you use/experience on a daily basis are you most excited about having a digital make-over?

Power management. Rumor has it that the internet of things will integrate almost every facet of our lives into the digital realm by 2025. All of this integrated technology will have to pull amps from somewhere to work reliably. We’re already seeing the advent of proximity charging for mobile devices, but 5-10 years from now I expect that Nikola Tesla’s dream of transmitting and distributing power (electric or otherwise) safely through the air could be realized. Plus, weartech is on a collision course with biotech. I’m not talking The Matrix or Shadowrun or anything so invasive, but we’re not that far away from low-energy devices being able to harness the body’s natural current to power themselves. The intersection of innovation around battery efficiency, alternative fuel cells, solar-everywhere, and low-energy components will be an interesting space to watch.

What was your last truly smashing idea?

Proposing to my wife…at her family’s vineyard…during their big family reunion.

If you could have any profession other than the one you’re in, what would it be and why?

Co-host of Top Gear. The proper British version on BBC, not that painfully awkward U.S. reboot. Driving is one of my favorite things to do, and I can’t imagine a better dream-job scenario than to get paid to play with the coolest cars on the planet and then rip on them for no good reason. Course, sounding like a Yank would likely be a barrier to entry for me on this one (amongst other things).

You’re stuck on a remote island, but can have one piece of technology with you. What would it be and why?

Satellite phone. Stuck is just a state of mind.

Obviously there will be a movie made about your life someday. What would the title be and who play you?

A Beautiful Mind 2: Design Boogaloo, starring Mr. Tom Hanks.

What do you do to fuel your creative fire?

It varies based on the situation. I sketch, I write, sometimes I even daydream. A walk on a nice day always helps, and occasionally I’ll bring a camera along. I play pretend games with my son. I don’t really have a set regimen. It’s really just making time to let my brain do what it does best. Think.